WITHOUT GOD, THERE IS NO WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Matthew 6:33-34 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. 34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
They say it’s a struggle to balance life and without God working in, on, and through your life, that statement is true!
The amount of human effort needed to keep life balanced is absolutely beyond imagination. There never seems to be enough time, energy, or wisdom to choose the appropriate, people, things, or tasks, etc. to keep that balance. In fact, keeping balance in your own strength is non-sensical, yet we regularly fall victim to the guilt associated with not being able to handle it.
The enemy (Satan/devil) knows that we are incapable of this level of ‘balance’ the world demands of us, but he doesn’t want us to rely on God our Father, the creator of the universe itself, the only one on whom we can completely rely on for guidance. Instead the enemy is the one who makes us feel this guilt, just so we buy into his solution, which is the ‘WORK LIFE BALANCE ‘ lie, which is powered by ‘self’.
Satan wants us to strive in our own strength. He wants us to be preoccupied and not focus on God. He wants us to put ‘self’ first. He wants us to burn-out, trying. He wants us to fail all the while dangling a carrot before us to try harder at being the best employee, the best spouse, the best parent, the best friend, the best church goer, and the best at everything, all at the same time.
In our own strength, this is impossible.
Imagine this picture of weigh scales (above) and all of your life is loaded on one side. No balance.
The devils’ solution is for you to balance life in your own strength, energy, time, and wisdom and he sells you on the concept that you can be a hero. He sells you on books and motivational talks that tell you that you can do it. So, you spend your entire time running back and forth moving people, things, tasks, etc. in and out of each of the sides of the scale to maintain the illusion of balance. The problem is that it isn’t a ‘once and done’ task. Each area of life is always changing, requiring different attention all the time, rendering us exhausted and reactive to the circumstances around us. Each time you move one item from one side, you have to find something else to balance it on the other side once again. We just don’t have that kind of time, energy, and especially not the wisdom to pull it off. We are not God and Satan’s knows it and banks on it. It’s the enemy’s ploy to keep us preoccupied on the impossible rather than the possible of God.
Now imagine a scale where you put all of the weight of life, people, relationships, jobs, tasks, etc. on to God’s side of the scale. It may look unbalanced, but it provides true balance. Only God can give you the strength, the time, and the wisdom to manage life. God is the only one who will show us what to move out and in to the scales to maintain a balance that brings HIM GLORY AND HONOUR. Only God knows when it’s ok to miss one event over another. Only God knows when it’s ok to help another person, rather than your own family. Only God knows when it’s ok. HE is proactive rather than reactive. Only God knows all things at all times. If HE can balance the universe, he can balance our lives in His strength, in His time, and in His wisdom. And if we are His children, saved and sanctified by the blood of Jesus, then we can access God our Father for everything!
Acts 17:28 For in him we live and move and exist.
1 Corinthians 2:16 For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.
1 Peter 5:7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
Imagine:
Scales #1 – all of life loaded on one side (the reality of life without God)
Scales #2 – the illusion of balanced scales, balanced by your effort, inspired by the devil
Scales #3 – you load all of life on God’s side of the scale and watch God move in your life
If we put all of our faith, hope, and trust in God, He will give us wisdom, strength, peace, love, joy, forgiveness, grace, and kindness to do all of LIFE!
Where do you struggle to balance?
It’s time to give it all to the Lord!